Though the 66-year-old never officially cashed in his Bowie bonds and entered retirement, Where Are We Now? marks his first official single in a decade. His absence from the stage has been nearly as long. The legend’s last world tour, for the 2003 album Reality, was abruptly ended in June 2004 in Scheesel, Germany. After the crowd cheered his encore of Ziggy Stardust, Bowie, then 57, collapsed backstage of a heart attack; the remaining dates were subsequently cancelled. A 2009 performance for New York’s first High Line Festival could have marked his return, but the gig was mysteriously cancelled — making his last known performances short guest appearances with friends including the Arcade Fire (2005) and Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour (2006).

And though the occasional Tweet from his wife, Iman, has assured fans that Bowie has been “Healthy & Happy” all this time, the 2000s have missed the man who made pop stardom an art form. He’s been known to pick his young daughter Lexi up from school, attend the odd charity function or film festival (his son, Duncan, is the acclaimed director of Moon), or even do a bit of voice work for a SpongeBob SquarePants special.

But while David Bowie the man has been living out a private life, David Bowie the character has kept resurfacing in pop culture. Here are the top Bowie moments since the real one took a time out.

Flight of the Conchords

What would David Bowie do? It’s a question we all ask ourselves from time to time, and in this 2007 episode of the cult HBO comedy, it’s Bret who’s doing the asking when he starts fretting over his body image. So what would David Bowie do? Bowie himself (as played by Bret’s roommate Jemaine) provides the answer, visiting Bret three times and in three personae — as Ashes to Ashes Bowie, Ziggy Stardust Bowie and “Jareth the Goblin King from the movie Labyrinth” Bowie — before the episode concludes with the Space Oddity spoof Bowie’s in Space.

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly do Bowie and Bing

“The Christmas holiday thing”

There’s no improving on the 1977 original, Bing Crosby and David Bowie’s odd-couple crooning on Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy. But if you’re as into “the Christmas holiday thing” as the “Boo-ee” household, you probably caught this 2010 Funny or Die line-for-line remake of the clip, starring Will Ferrell as Bowie and John C. Reilly as Bing.

Is David Bowie Dying?, The Flaming Lips with Neon Indian

Underneath layers of hypnotic distortion you won’t find any Bowie conspiracy theories. But the title of this 2011 track, which is also included on The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends collection, features a title that voices what a lot of worried Bowie kids had been thinking since the end of the Reality era.

Prometheus

Nothing could have saved this Alien prequel, not even a very special performance of Ashes to Ashes. Still, director Ridley Scott was quoted in the Daily Mail saying that he based the android character David (Michael Fassbender) on David Bowie’s look. “I liked the idea of having a feminine quality to him for sure,” Scott said.

The Watchmen

In his full Martian regalia, Ziggy Stardust always looked like a rock ‘n’ roll superhero. And, in the opening montage of The Watchmen, there he was with a real pack of them, hanging outside Studio 54 with other ‘70s superstars.

Venture Bros.

David Bowie is so many things to so many people: He’s a rock star, an actor, an artist … a shape-shifting cartoon super-villain. But not just any super-villain. David Bowie is the Sovereign — nemesis of Cartoon Network heroes the Venture Bros. In 2011, a petition was launched to get the real Bowie to voice the character on the show. (If SpongeBob is good enough for him…) Maybe this 2013 comeback will prove the perfect opportunity to relaunch the movement.

Banksy

In May 2012 a painting of a young Queen Elizabeth II struck with the same lightning-bolt face paint as Bowie’s Aladdin Sane appeared on the side of a Bristol shop. Identified in several outlets as a new piece by guerrilla graffiti star Banksy, the painting was as much a celebration of the Queen’s diamond jubilee as Bowie’s continuing reign over pop culture – even while absent.

London Olympics

After meeting with Danny Boyle, director of the Closing Ceremonies, Bowie famously turned down an offer to participate in an extravaganza that would include Queen, the Spice Girls and nearly every British superstar in existence. “I went to meet David Bowie and he didn’t want to appear, he didn’t want to perform; he wasn’t into that performing live,” Boyle told The Times. “But he gave us all the support we needed, which was a big buzz for me because he is of of my heroes.” Still, Bowie’s music was everywhere during the games. His song Fashion featured during a portion of Boyle’s Closing Ceremonies, playing while a goon squad of British supermodels catwalked. And, more strikingly, Team Great Britain selected Bowie’s Heroes as their unofficial anthem.

Tebowie

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’s contribution to the Tim Tebow meme cycle of 2012 was a recurring gag featuring Fallon in character as a singing hybrid of Tebow, the prayerful NFL quarterback, and Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie. Song parodies, including one of Bowie’s Space Oddity, would suggest the God-fearing “Tebowie” might have trouble accepting the existentialist themes of his namesake’s work.